Page 78 of When Roses Burn

She was weak and exhausted, but I was willing to let her have her way on this. Having her in my arms again was triggering memories I preferred to keep buried.

Memories of fucking her were one thing. Memories of loving her were a different hell altogether.

Shifting my hold, I set her down and stood beside her as she wobbled more than a newborn foal. I waited until she steadied enough not to fall flat on her face. I strode over to open the door and stepped back as I held it for her.

She squeezed her eyes closed before opening them again. I wondered if her vision was blurry, but instead of admitting to needing help, she took one step, then another, and another.

When she lifted her right foot from the ground again, her left leg buckled, and she crumpled toward the floor. I didn’t recall releasing the door, but my arms encircled her, and I lifted her before she hit the ground.

Briar groaned as her head fell against my shoulder again. Irritation radiated from her when she lifted it, but her jaw locked, and she didn’t speak again.

I carried her from the room, down the hall, and out to the grand entry. No one else was around, and I suspected they’d all scattered after I’d called for the blanket.

Not even the sprites, with their mischievous personalities, would turn invisible to try to watch. Their ability was amazing, and often fooled many, but I’d learned to scent them out and knew when they were near.

I ignored the feeling of rightness that stole through me from having Briar in my arms again while I ascended the stairs, but it could never be. It didn’t matter if the beast believed she belonged to us; it didn’t matter that she hadn’t confessed her sins and withstood her Needing in a way no other had. Things were far too broken between us; not only that, but I wasn’t the man she’d fallen in love with, and I never could be again.

Seth died in the harem. What rose to replace him was a monster willing to destroy everything in its way of freeing this kingdom.

CHAPTER FIFTY

Briar

All I wanted was sleep. My eyes burned, and my entire body was so sore I was certain it would take a week before I felt better.

I’d been ravaged by what happened and mortified that Knox had to carry me. And while he held me tenderly, it wasn’t with the love with which he once did. It wasn’t unkind, but it was far from personal.

On the second floor, he turned away from the stairs leading to the third. “What are you doing?” I demanded.

“A bath will help you.”

A bath sounded like nirvana for my sore muscles, and I’d love to rid myself of the stench clinging to me, but I’d much prefer to bathe on my own. I could take care of myself… once I had the energy to do so.

He opened a door and stepped into a sumptuously appointed room. The branches on the trees in the corners reached the domed, glass ceiling. Those limbs crept over the glass but didn’t block all the sky. A few stars poked through the cloud cover.

“How long was I in there?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

He set me beside a tub big enough to fit ten and leaned over me to turn on the water. I opened my mouth to tell him I’d prefer to return to my room, but the rising steam froze my words. It was almost as alluring as a bed, but…

When Knox turned another knob on the tub, a soapy liquid poured into the water, forming bubbles. My insistence on being returned to my room died on my lips.

Steam and bubbles? Who could refuse that?

I stared at the tempting pool of blue water as it rose higher. When Knox rose and walked over to a large walnut cabinet, I missed the heat of him; that longing brought fresh tears to my eyes.

I wiped them away before he could see. I was exhausted, battered, and damn near broken by everything that had transpired. And I was even more certain he was gone for good.

From within the cabinet, he removed some bottles before returning to me. When he set them down, their labels faced me… lavender, chamomile, eucalyptus, and comfrey leaf. They were all good for relaxation and helped ease inflammation and joint pain.

I lifted my eyes to his face. Black stubble lined his square jaw; it was nearly the length of the hair on his head and the same shade of black. I almost leaned close to kiss his cheek, but stopped myself. I’d been through enough and wasn’t in the mood for him to shove me off the tub.

I yearned so badly for him, and not in the desperate way of my Needing. I wanted to reconnect with him, feel him, and love him. Oh, how badly I longed to give this broken man the love he deserved.

“You know your herbs,” I murmured.

“I spent a lot of time with the sprites as a child. They wouldn’t have allowed me to stay in the woods with them if I wasn’t willing to learn.”